October 27, 2001 CURRENT RUMBLE Delicate Flower Darren 10.27.01 Dendrobium: 1.) The second largest orchid genus consisting of more than 1,000 species. Most dendrobiums are epiphytes from Asian and South Pacific tropics and subtropics, from lowland warm regions to Himalayan mountains. Pictured is an example of the Stardust Dendrobium species. 2.) RX-78 GP-03, composed of Orchis, the mobile armor, and Stamen, the mobile suit. Hardly a flower. This is one of those things that I hate: No matter how many pictures you take, no matter how many angles you try, the images don't do your subject justice. MSiA Dendrobium is very, very cool, but I'm not sure the pixels reflect that. Ultimately, it boils down to this: You either like Dendrobium, or you don't. I do. Dendrobium has become a symbol of goofy-cool Gunmecha design to me. It is a utilitarian and straightforward weapons sled for a robot and fantastically stupid at the same time. It is a muscle car. It boldly declares its purpose without regard for grace, "I am a set of over-sized engines and a large cannon." The box has a handle and is large, but no thicker than a Japanese MSiA box. Zoid DX Hover Cargo demonstrates the size of the box. The graphics are in tune to the MSiA Gundam Second Version's precedent. Inside are many large Orchis-bricks, plastic wrapped. It's not a model kit -- it assembles fast. The white box in the upper left corner holds the Stamen's tray, ready to be sold separately. Stamen includes his folding shield and bazooka, rifle, extra hands, backpack and binder pods, and claw arms. Assembly or disassembly of Orchis takes only a moment. All of the components connect with fat pins inserted into rubber collared holes. The pieces connect smoothly and silently -- nothing is forced, nothing snaps or pops. The high quality, ABS plastic components are heavy and feel solid. The backsides of the parts are not hollow voids. Orchis leans toward being a sturdy toy than a detailed model, but strikes a decent balance in between. The display stand assembles in 3 pieces. You start with the core sled including engines 3 & 4. Add engines 2 & 5, add the claw assemblies, add the tail feathers, add engines 1 & 6, add the dorsal riser and weapons, finish with the storage units. The completed Orchis weighs four pounds on my bathroom scale. It's 30 inches from stem to stern. I omitted some minor pieces for the pictures -- missiles meant to go in the storage racks, the control handle for the mega beam cannon, and hinged doors for the storage units. Again, the pictures defeat the toy. There's a fair amount of paneling and surface detail, but I'm afraid what you're seeing is a single sheet of pastey white. There's enough room on Orchis' fantail deck for four or five MSiA to have a tea party. All six engine bells gimbal. The mega beam cannon is nice and straight. The tip of it is rifled. I still don't know what the big drum-head thing on the other side is. (Note: It's an i-field shield generator. Thanks, Ben!) Miscellaneous pictures try to capture the thing. I wish I could better convey how BIG it is. Three storage compartments on each pod open. The Orchis' big claws extend and are articulated in three places. Musai is dwarfed by the leviathan. Mini-Dendrobium is engulfed by Big-Dendrobium's claw. Musai rests comfortably on top. MSiA Stamen, the proud owner of his new Orchis. Stamen fits easily into his little nook. Claw arms allow easy reach of accessories such as his folding shield. Excess. That's the theme. The design of Dendrobium is excess. The MSiA Dendrobium toy is excess. In a world of 5 foot tall Zakus and 31 flavors of Maz, it is a toy for today's toy nut.  RUMBLE INDEX  |  CURRENT RUMBLE